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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25897240">Adventures in Babysitting</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomTrashbag/pseuds/FandomTrashbag'>FandomTrashbag</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Pieces of Cake [12]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Labyrinth (1986)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Babysitting, jareth is great with kids, nanny ludo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 11:54:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,793</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25897240</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomTrashbag/pseuds/FandomTrashbag</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jareth and his little partner in crime attempt to surprise Auntie Sarah after she's been working all weekend.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jareth/Sarah Williams</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Pieces of Cake [12]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1772494</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Adventures in Babysitting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>In my little universe, Toby and his partner have a little girl who sometimes gets to visit with Sarah and Jareth. Often enough, those visits are in the Underground. This is about 5 years after "Only Forever" and Sarah has eaten her Peach of Commitment. Most of her time is spent Underground at this point. Don't worry; Toby knows.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Stop running in the bloody halls!” Jareth’s voice boomed distantly from the end of the hall as the door to Sarah’s little study burst open violently, and a vibrantly-ginger and very disheveled toddler came barrelling in. Said toddler then proceeded to scuttle under Sarah’s desk, scoot around her feet along the ground, and wind themselves around the base of her big chair. Blue eyes poked over the arm from under a mop of red curls and clung to Sarah’s forearm as they watched the open doorway intently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a few short moments, the echoing click of heels could be heard along the stone hallway as slow and creeping steps made their way toward the room. Jareth made to walk right past the open door, but stopped, leaning back comically far to notice Sarah sitting paused from her work.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pardon the intrusion, my lady,” he drawled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why, your majesty. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?” she said back with a smirk and a sickly sweet tone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was wondering,” he began slowly. His feet soon joined him in the doorway and he shifted to lean against it. “Have you seen an errant child anywhere?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sarah considered the question a moment. “A child?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” he purred. “A child.” He held his hand out about mid-thigh. “About so tall, I suspect.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She hummed in thought, leaning back in her chair away from the desk and her work, staunchly ignoring the child hiding behind her and the wing-backed chair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took a few slow steps in, his shoes clicking with emphasis as he stomped just a little. His gaze was casually searching, always avoiding the spot near her far arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bright orange hair, ruddy complexion, positively covered in freckles. After the mess they left in the kitchens, also likely covered in flour.” He ticked the list off on his fingers as he stalked the perimeter of the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sarah shook her head. “No… Nope. Can’t say I’ve seen anyone fitting that description.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tsked. “Such a pity.” He stopped to lean against the far side of Sarah’s big desk, crossing his ankles and studying his fingernails carefully. “As penance for their mischief, not to mention evasion, I think a good bogging may be in order.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“NO!” Sarah suddenly found her lap very full of a four-year-old ginger dusted lightly with cinnamon and their olive skin streaked with flour. The tiny head burrowed its way into the crook of Sarah’s arm as they tried desperately to hide against the older human.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, is </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> the child? I do hope you didn’t steal it,” she said playfully, wrapping her arms around the curled form of the little girl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jareth chuckled. “Hardly. This one was freely given, and I’m starting to see why.” He looked very pointedly at the girl who immediately hid her face in response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, Unt-ie Sawah. Don’t let Uncle J bog me. I swear I didn’t mean to make a mess.” Tears were shining in the big blue eyes staring up at her and Sarah did nothing but sigh and roll her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know he’d never do that. Your dads would kill him if he did. Then I’d be left all alone in the big scary castle with all the annoying little goblins.” She pinched the girl’s nose lightly and slowly slid her onto her feet. She turned her shoulders to face Jareth. “What should we say when we misbehave?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The little girl looked sheepishly down at her feet, pretending to be distracted by her fingers. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jareth looked down at her with a softness in his eyes, despite his arms crossed squarely at his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And do we know better than to disturb Auntie when she’s in her study?” he asked quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The little girl looked up at him from underneath the short curls that hung in her face. She nodded in response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why is that?” he prompted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She puffed up her cheeks and blew out a big breath to recite, “If the door is closed, Un-tie Sawah is working and it’s rude to bovver her with umportant stuff.” She spun around desperately to look back up at Sarah in her chair. “But we were making you cookies!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jareth scoffed and looked betrayed. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Unimportant</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he corrected gently. “And that was supposed to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>our</span>
  </em>
  <span> secret, my little one. We were going to surprise her </span>
  <em>
    <span>after </span>
  </em>
  <span>work-time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The girl’s eyes widened in realization and she looked back to Sarah. “Oops.” She leaned in close to Sarah and whispered loudly, “P’tend I didn’t tell the secret, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sarah just winked, looking up at Jareth as she whispered right back, “I promise to act surprised after dinner.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The little girl beamed proudly. A second later, her smile split into a huge yawn and she reached up to rub at her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As if an alarm had been rung, a large and rather hairy orange beast shuffled into the doorway. “Jamie, nap?” Ludo’s voice rolled through the room and the little girl perked up a moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The beast’s timing is rather appropriate. I do quite think it is time for an afternoon nap, little one.” Jareth smiled a little and held out a gloved hand. The girl took it quickly, seemingly forgetting her fear of being in trouble before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sawah busy,” Ludo said by way of greeting, his eyes crinkling with pride. “Ludo, help King.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Ludo,” Sarah said warmly. She loved that Ludo helped to take care of her niece when she visited. It helped that Ludo was Jamie’s favorite because he was not unlike a giant stuffed toy. He apparently made an excellent surface for napping.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before handing her off to the rock-caller, Jareth crouched down and whispered something to the little girl. She nodded adamantly before curling her arms around his neck in a hug, which he eagerly returned, placing a small kiss on the top of her messy head. Jamie then turned and climbed into Ludo’s hulking arms, halfway to sleep before they could get very far down the hall to her room. After watching intently until the troll and the child disappeared through a distant doorway, Jareth stood from his position and turned back to face Sarah.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I really am sorry, darling. She knows better than to burst in on you while you’re working.” The look on it his face was genuinely apologetic but tinged with an edge of exhaustion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shrugged casually, closing her laptop and moving it aside, briefly thinking to herself how wonderful the magic here was that she never needed to plug it in. She did, however, have to keep it hidden. Every bit of technology she would sneak around here eventually ended up in the fumbling, grubby hands of overly-fascinated goblins.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He perched himself on the edge of the desk in front of her, occupying the space her work had previously been taking up. His position brought his lap eye level with her and she stretched, running her hands over his bent knees and up his thighs. She leaned forward, resting her cheek on the top of one leg while her arms stretched further to wrap around his waist. She sighed quietly and let her eyes drift shut for a moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve done enough working while she’s been here this time around. I think I can afford to take the rest of today off before we take her home in the morning,” she admitted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He leaned back, supporting his upper body on one arm. He took off the glove of his free hand to run his long fingers through her hair, gently scratching at her scalp as he did so. “You got enough done with your looming deadline, I trust?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded, rubbing her cheek against him. “Tell me about your afternoon babysitting the little monster?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He laughed softly. “My darling, we live surrounded by occasionally-hairy and often vile-smelling goblins with the behavioral habits of two-year-olds and an odd obsession with poultry, yet you dub your brother’s offspring a monster?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shifted to look up at him from her position in his lap, and without moving her head, pointed at a smudge of flour across the thigh she wasn’t currently using as a pillow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fair enough,” he conceded with an arched brow and a nod of his head. “The kitchen really is quite a disaster. Arnault is very displeased at the mess she managed to leave behind.” He felt a sharp jab at the smudge on his leg and rolled his eyes. “Yes, alright. That </span>
  <em>
    <span>we </span>
  </em>
  <span>managed to leave behind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She let her eyes drift back closed for a moment in satisfaction of his correction, relaxing into the soothing feel of his hand in her hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Prior to that havoc, once you disappeared into your dungeon after breakfast-- </span>
  <em>
    <span>ouch!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her fingers had pinched his side sharply, though her eyes never opened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Young Jamie’s words, mind you, not mine,” he huffed in defense. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Anyways</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I took her out to the gardens and we played hide and seek with your knight friend amongst the sculptures and hedges. It didn’t take long for that to devolve into a very rudimentary game of fetch between that shaggy mutt and our vibrant weekend guest.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sarah finally opened her eyes, a content look on her face as she sat herself up to look up at him properly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, really. You’re so good to her and you don’t have to be.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He straightened himself and his hands, one gloved and one bare, held her face. “Childcare is a hazard of my job, I’m afraid. It was a very quick lesson that if I wanted a child to </span>
  <em>
    <span>survive</span>
  </em>
  <span> for any length of time, I could not leave my creatures as their sole guardians. Besides, I rather thought I had slithered my way into your good graces well before she came along. It’s not as if I still need to impress you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked off to the side warily, “Don’t be so sure of yourself, Goblin King.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At that, he leaned down to kiss her soundly, muffling her slight squeak of surprise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tasted of warm butter and cinnamon. His lips had been dusted with the stuff when he kissed the crown of Jamie’s head. She smiled big against his kiss and, rather reluctantly, pulled away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You made snickerdoodles,” she whispered loudly, eyes shining with excitement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The little one did say they were your favorite,” he smiled back at her, still holding her face tenderly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She stood from her chair and placed herself firmly between his knees, wrapping her arms around him and hugging tight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you say we take our own little nap before dinner?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His answering hum vibrated through his chest as his hands rubbed at her back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That sounds absolutely divine,” he purred.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Ludo always reminded me of this GIANT teddy bear my dad has had my entire life. It's seriously huge and a similar red color. I used to try and nap on it once in a while when I was little. It still sits in the corner of his guest room (which I sleep in when I visit).</p></blockquote></div></div>
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